Machine for making can-bodies.



PATENTED APR. 4, 1905 G. P. LBIGER. MACHINE FOR MAKING CAN BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED 00w. 20,1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

"WI 'HH I 786,302- PATENTED APR. 4, 1905.

G. P. LEIGER.

MACHINE FOR MAKING GAN BODIES.-

APPLICATION 11.31) our. 20,1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET. 2.

No. 786,302. PATENTED APR. 4, 1905. G. P. LBIGER.

MACHINE FOR MAKING CAN BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.20,1903.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

No. 786,302. PATE TED APR. 4, 1905.

' G. F. LEIGBR.

MACHINE FOR MAKING oAN BODIES. APPLIFJATION FILED OOT. 20,1903.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES Patented April 4, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. LEIGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY

MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE L. BENEDICT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING CAN-BODIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,302, dated April 4,1905. Application filed October 20,1903. Serial No. 177,821.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. LEIG-ER, re-.

siding at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for MakingCan-Bodies, of which the following is aspecificatio'n, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to machines for forming can-bodies or similarcylindrical bodies formed from sheet metal and having the side seamsinterlocked, and more particularly relates to improvements upon LettersPatent No. 693,325, dated February 11, 1902, and No. 732,004, dated June23, 1903, both granted upon my application; and its principal object isto provide a means by which the front edge of the sheet of metal to beformed into a canbody may be accurately delivered to the canbody formingand side seam interlocking mechanism and accurately gaged to the knifeand slot which form the interlocking side scam in such a way that thesheet of metal will always project over the slot in which theinterlocking seams are formed by the coop eration of the knife such adistance as to insure the proper formation of the interlocking seam.

Some difiiculty has been experienced heretofore in machines of thistype, owing to the difliculty of producing sheets of metal of exactlythe same size and thickness, in so accu rately delivering the sheets tothe knife and slot which form the interlocking seams as to insure justthe right amount of metal projecting over the slot to be operated uponby the knife. It will be obvious, for instance, if the sheet of metaldid not project a sufficient distance over the slot a complete interlockof the seam would not be formed by the operation of the knife whichforces the metal into the slot. If, on the other hand, the sheet of tinwere a little too long and projected too far over the slot, a portion ofthe edge of the metal would project beyond the edge of the slot afterthe metal was forced into the slot by the knife, which might destroy andwould render clumsy and awkward the interlocking of the side seams.

projected automatjeeting over the groove at just the proper amount toinsure the knife tucking the tin of the forward edge of the sheet intothe groove to form the first of the interlocking seams with certaintyand precision.

My invention further consists in mechan- 5 ism by which a sheet of tinwill be fed forward so as to throw its front edge firmly and accuratelyagainst the said gage.

The further object of my invention is to im- )IOVG can-bod, -forminmachinery in sundry 7 details hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an end elevation. Fig. 2 is afront elevation. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, being a vertical sectionfrom rear to front of the can-bodyforming rolls and table, showing theessential features of the machine so far as my present invention isconcerned. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail, being a section through thecan-bodyforming rolls. being a view of a portion of the upper roll,showing the adjustable gage and its method of attachment to the roll.Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail, beinga view of a portion of the Fig. v5 isan enlarged detail, 0

under roll, showing the slot in which the in 5 terlocking side seams areformed and the depression into which the gage drops when in operation;and Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail, being a View of the gage and the plateby which it is secured to the upper roll.

Referring to the drawings, 8 indicates the framework of the machine, inwhich are journaled shafts 9, 10, and 11.

12 13 indicate, respectively, fast and loose pulleys mounted upon theshaft 10.

14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 indicate gearing by which the various operatingparts of the machine are driven. This gearing is the same and operatesin the same manner as is described in Letters Patent No. 732,004, datedJune 23, 1903, granted upon my application, but may be of any approvedconstruction.

19 20 indicate rollers which are keyed or otherwise secured,respectively, to shafts 10 and 11. The roller 19 is provided with a slot21 upon its periphery, which is projected into the roller at an anglewith a tangent to the roller at said point in the manner shown and fullydescribed in Letters Patent No. 693, 325, dated February 11, 1903,granted upon my application. The roller 20 is provided with a projectingportion 22, whose surface is concentric with the shaft 11-. 23 indicatesa rockshaft mounted in said projecting portion 22 and carrying a knife24, which is operated by a lever 25, and roller 26, operating in acamgroove 27, mounted upon the framework 8. As I prefer to construct themachine the slot 21 is formed in a separate plate 28, which is securedin a suitable recess in the roll 19, as is described in Letters PatentNo. 732,004 and is best shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The opera tion of therolls 19 and 20, the groove 27, and the knife 24 in forming can-bodiesor other cylindrical bodies of sheet metal with the side seamsinterlocked is exactly the same as is described in Letters PatentNo.693,325, above referred to, and will be generally noted hereinafter.

29 indicates a depression in the plate 28 immediately in advance of theslot 21 as the roller 19 rotates.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, where it is most clearlyillustrated, 30 indicates a plate which is secured to the surface of theroll 20 immediately in advance of the forward side of the projection 22in the direction of the rotation of said roller. The plate 30 isprovided with two elongated slots 31, through which pass screws 32, bymeans of which the plate 30 is secured to the roll 20. By loosening thescrews 32 by means of the elongated slots 31 the position of the plate30 upon the roller 20 may be slightly shifted, so as to bring it nearerto or farther away from the projection 22. 33 indicates a gage which ispivotally mounted between bearings 34 on the surface of the plate 30.The end of said plate which is forward in the direction of the rotationof the roll 20 projects out over the surface of the roll 20, and theother end projects into a recess 35, cut in the projection 22.

36 indicates a spring which is mounted in a suitable opening in the roll20 and which bears upon the under side of the gage 33 and tends by itsexpansion to normally hold the end of the gage 33, upon which it bearsoutward away from the roller 20, in the position best shown in Fig. 4.The other end of the gage bears upon the surface of the roll 20.

37 (see Fig. 4) indicates a ring which operates to push the can-bod ywhen the side seams are formed and interlocked from the roll 19.

The ring 37 is operated in exactly the same manner as is shown anddescribed in said Letters Patent N 0. 732,004, but may be operated inany approved way and, forming no part of my present invention, it isbelieved needs no further description here.

38 indicates atable mounted upon the feed side of the machine andprojecting forward near to and partially between the rolls 19 and 20.

39 indicates a table adapted to contain a pile of sheet-metal platesfrom which the plates to be formed into can-bodies are fed to themachine.

40 indicates pneumatic picker mechanism by means of which when a pile ofsheets of metal are placed upon the table 39 the top sheet isautomatically fed at suitable intervals forward between rollers 41 42and by them deposited upon the upper surface of the table 38. The pickermechanism, the table 39, the end rollers 41 42, and the feed devices arethe same as those shown in said Letters Patent No. 732,004 and operatein precisely thesame manner as is fully described in said LettersPatent. Inasmuch as all these parts are, as was said, precisely like theparts shown and fully described in said Letters Patent No. 732,004 andoperate in the same manner and inasmuch as they form no part of mypresent invention, but are shown so far as illustrated to show acomplete machine, it is believed no further description of them isnecessary here. Besides, any other approved form of mechanism forfeeding the sheets to the table 38 may be employed, if desired.

43 indicates a block which is slidingl y mounted in a suitable slot 44in the table 38 and is provided with a downward projection 45.

46 indicates a bell-crank lever having arms 46 46 and pivotally mountedupon the framework 8.

47 indicates a link which is pivotally connected at one end with theprojection 45 of the sliding block 43 and at the other end to the upperend of the arm 46.

48 indicates a retractilc spring which is connected at its forward endwith the framework 8 and at its rear end with the arm 46 of thebell-crank lever 46 and tends by its contraction to draw the arm 46, andwith it the block 43. forward.

The block 43, as is best shown in Fig. 3, projects upward through theslot 44 above the upper surface of the table 38, so as to engage therear end of a sheet of metal which has been fed upon said table 38 bythe picker mechanism 40 and rolls 41 42, above referred to.

49 indicates a cam which is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft 9.As is best shown in Fig. 3, the surface of the cam 49 curves from thepoint 49 to the point 49", extending gradually farther and farther fromthe central point of the shaft 9-from 49 to 49 From 49 to 49 thecam-surface is a straight line, approaching from 49 to 49 nearer to theaxis of the shaft 9. The cam 49 is also provided with a projection 50,whose outer surface is circular concentric with the shaft 9.

51 indicates a roller which is journaled upon the outer end of the arm46 of the bell-crank lever 46. The cam 49 rotates in the direction shownby the arrow in Fig. 3, and in said figure the roller 51 is shown asjust at the point of leaving the cam.

The operation of the parts above described is as follows: When themachine is in operation, a sheet of -metal is fed by the pickermechanism 40 and rolls 41 and 42 from the top of a pile of sheets uponthe table 38 in the manner described in said Letters Patent No. 732,004.The parts are so adjusted that at the time a sheet is deposited upon thetable 38 the roller 51 upon the arm 46 of the bellcrank lever 46 hasreached the point 49 of the cam 49. As the surface of the cam upon whichsaid roller 51 bears-from the point 49" to the point 49 -projects nearerto the axis of the shaft 9, upon which said cam is mounted, the spring48, which keeps the roller 51 upon the surface of the cam, will drawforward the arm 46 of the bell-crank lever 46, which will move the block43 forward. The block 43, engaging the rear edge of the sheet metaldeposited upon the table 38,will push it forward toward the rolls 19 and20, to be operated upon by the knife 24 and slot 21. This movement ofthe block 43, however, will not quite bring forward the edge of thesheet into position to be operated upon. This will await the nextmovement of the block 43. In the meanwhile the can-body-forming rollers19 and 20, being rotated in the direction indicated by arrows on Figs. 3and 4, have been brought into position where the knife and groove areabout to operate that is to say, in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4.At this point and just before the knife and groove operate the rear endof the gage 33, forced outward by the spring 36, drops into thedepression 29 in the roller 19 a short distance in advance of the slot21 as the rollers 19 and 20 rotate. The distance in advance of the slot21, which the rear end of the gage 33 takes when dropped into thisposition, may be varied by th adjustment of the plate 30 upon the roll20, above described, and will depend upon the character of the metalused. Inasmuch as the gage 33 operates as astop to the forward edge ofthe sheet of tin when projected into a position to be operated upon, ashereinafter described, the adjustment of the gage 33 by means of theplate 30 and the screws 32 will be such that the portion of the sheetprojecting over the slot 21, limited by the gage 33, will be enough toform an interlocking seam when operated upon by the knife 24. Justbefore the rolls and the gage .have reached the position just describedthe roller 51 has reached the projection 50 and is retained by the same,forcing upward the arm 46 of the lever 46 and moving the block 43 ashort distance back away from the rear edge of the sheet. Just as therollers and the gage have reached the position above described andimmediately before the knife is ready to operate the roller 51 reachesthe position shown in Fig. 3, and thereupon passing off from theprojection 50 drops to the point 49 under the action of the spring 48,which causes a quick forward motion of the arm 46 and of the block 43.By the first motion of the block 43 above described the forward edge ofthe sheet has been brought almost to a position in which it wouldcontact the gage 33; but inasmuch as the distance from the point 49" onthe cam 49 from the point 49 to the axis of the shaft 9 is less than thedistance from the point 49 to the axis of the shaft 9 the sudden forwardmotion of the block 43 will throw the sheet still farther quicklyforward and press it firmly against the rear end of the gage 33, theamount of motion of the operating parts being of course properlyadjusted. This insures the forward edge of the sheet being forcedagainst and held firmly to the rear end of the gage 33 and makes it surethat the forward edge of the sheet of metal to be operated upon projectssufliciently forward of the slot 21 to insure a proper formation of aninterlocking seam by the knife in cooperation with said slot. Inasmuchas the rear end of the gage 33 is, as is stated above, forced outwardinto the slight depression 29 on the roller 19 by the action of thespring 36, the forward edge of the sheet of tin cannot be thrown underthe gage, but must come directly against it. Immediately after thesecond forward thrust of the block 43,caused by the roller 51 passingfrom the projection 50, the roller 51 rides up the straight portion ofthe cam from 49 to 49", forcing the block 43 backward ready for anotheroperation upon a second sheet. Immediately upon the forward edge of thesheet being forced against the gage 33 the knife 24 operates and forcesthe tin into the slot 21, forming the first interlocking seam of thecylindrical metal body in exactly the same manner as is described in theLetters Patent No. 693,325, above mentioned, and from that time on thefurther operations of forcing the rear edge of the sheet into the slot21 to interlock the side seams, the pushing of the cylindrical body thusformed from the rollers, the hammering of the seams, and the ejecting ofthe cam from the machine are precisely the same as those described inthe above-named Letters Patent No. 732,004 and No. 693,325 and form nopart of my present invention. Be-

sides, so far as my present invention is concerned any other approvedmechanlsm may be used to hammer the interlocked seam and discharge thecans from the rolls. It is believed, therefore, that it is not necessaryto describe them here.

That which I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

1. The combination with cooperating rollers adapted to form a sheet ofmetal into a cylinder, and mechanism carried thereby to form andinterlock the side seam of said cylinder, of a gage mounted on one ofsaid rollers and adapted as said rollcr rotates to be automaticallyprojected into the path of a sheet of metal advancing to said rollersand contact with the front edge thereof, substantially as described.

2. The combination with cooperating rollers adapted to form a sheet ofmetal into a cylinder, and mechanism carried thereby to form andinterlock the side seam of said cylinder, of a gage mounted on one ofsaid rollers in advance of said side-seam-interlocking mechanism andadapted to be automatically projected into the path of a sheet of metaladvancing to said rollers and contact with the front edge of said sheetand limit its forward movement into said side-seam forming andinterlocking mechanism, substantially as described.

3. The combination with cooperating rollers adapted to form a sheet ofmetal into a cylinder, and mechanism carried thereby to form andinterlock the side seams thereof, of a gage mounted on one of saidrollers in advance of and adjustable with reference to saidsideseam-interlocking mechanism and adapted to be automaticallyprojected 'into the path of a sheet of metal advancing toward saidrollers and contact with the front edge of said sheet and limit itsforward movement into said sideseam forming and interlocking mechanism,and mechanism for feeding a sheet of metal against said gage,substantially as described.

4:. The combination with a roller provided with a slot, and a secondmember adapted to cooperate with said roller to form a cylindricalcan-body thereon and interlock the side seam of the same, of a gagemounted on said second member, a recess on said roller in advance ofsaid slot, and mechanism adapted to automatically project said gage intosaid recess into the path of a sheet of metal advancing to said rolleras said roller rotates and limit the forward motion of said sheet ofmetal, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a roller provided with a slot on its periphery,of asecond member adapted to cooperate with said roller to form acylindrical can-body thereon and interlock the side seam of the same, agage pivoted on said second member, a recess on said roller in advanceof said slot, mechanism adapted to automatically project said gage intosaid recess into the path of a sheet of metal advancing to said rolleras said roller rotates and limit the forward motion of said sheet ofmetal, and

mechanism adapted to feed a sheet of metal against said gage,substantially as described.

6. The combination with a roller provided with a slot on its periphery,and a second member adapted to cooperate with said roller to form acylindrical can-body thereon and interlock the side seam of the same, ofa gage pivoted on said second member and adjustable thereon withrelation to the slot on said roller, a recess on said roller in advanceof said slot, and mechanism adapted to automatically project said gageinto said recess in the path of a sheet of metal advancing to saidroller as said roller rotates and limit the forward motion of said sheetof metal, substantially as described.

7. The combination with rotary can-bodyforming andside-seam-interlocking mechanism, of a gage carried on saidcan-body-forming mechanism adapted to be automatically projected intothe path of a sheet of metal entering said can-body-forming mechanismand to limit its forward motion into said can-bodyforming mechanism, ablock adapted to contact with a sheet of metal, and mechanism adapted togive to said block a movement at a speed greater than the surface speedof said can-body-forming mechanism to force said sheet of metal againstsaid gage, substantially as described.

8. The combination with cooperating rollers adapted to form a sheet ofmetal into a cylinder and mechanism carried thereon to form andinterlock the side seam of said cylinder, of a gage mounted on one ofsaid rollers and adapted as said rollers rotate to be automaticallyprojected into the path of a sheet of metal advancing to said rollersand to contact with the front edge thereof and limit its forward motioninto said mechanism, a block adapted to contact with the rear end of asheet of metal, mechanism adapted to move said block to forward saidsheet of metal toward said rollers, and mechanism adapted to give tosaid block a second forward movement to force the forward edge of saidsheet of metal against said gage, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a roller 19 provided on its periphery with aslot 21 and with a recess 29 in advance of said slot as said rollerrotates, a second member 20 provided with a projection 22, a knife 24mounted in said second member 20 and adapted to cooperate with I saidslot to form and interlock the side seam of a sheet of metal and formthe same into a cylindrical can-body on said roller 19, and mechanismfor operating said roller and said knife, of a gage 33 pivotally mountedon said second member 20 in advance of said projection and adjustable onsaid member 20, and means adapted to force the rear end of said gage 33into said recess 29 as said rollers rotate, into the path of a sheet ofmetal advancing to said roller and second member, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination with a roller 19 provided on its periphery With aslot 21 and With a recess 29 in advance of said slot as said rollerrotates, of a second member 20 provided with a projection 22, a knife 24mounted in said second member 20 and adapted to cooperate with said slotto form and interlock the side seam of a sheet of metal and form thesame into a cylindrical can-body on said roller 19, and mechanism foroperating said roller and said knife, of a gage 33 pivotally mounted onsaid second member 20 in advance of said projection and adjustable onsaid member 20, means adapted to force the rear end of said gage 33 intosaid recess 29 as said roller rotates and into the path 01 a sheet ofmetal advancing to said roller and said second member, of a tableadjacent to said roller and said second member, a block slidinglymounted in said table and adapted to engage the rear end of a sheet ofmetal laid on said table, means for giving said block a forward motionto advance said sheet of metal toward said roller 19, and mechanismadapted to give to said block a second forward motion at a speed greaterthan the surface speed of the roller 19 and force the front edge of saidsheet of metal against said gage, substantially as described.

GEORGE F. LEIGER.

Vitnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS, MINNIE A. HUNTER.

